The Business

Thanks for the post from Sylvester Campbell

There’s nothing good to say about owning your own business once you get past the flexibility and the total control. In my opinion, those things are kind of negatives anyway since I’m a bad time manager and I have a tough time delegating! I guess the biggest problem I’ve found is that I spend so much time doing what I’ve already hired other people to do because I want it perfect that I don’t really have time to just sit back and be the boss. I spend all my weekends working because I don’t want to get behind and from bank card processing to hiring and firing to paying for utilities there’s just a lot to keep up with when you run your own store! I love my job, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a lot more work than I ever anticipated and I definitely thought being my own boss would be a lot easier and more relaxing. I guess it’s something to think about before you haul off and start your own company!

Book Reading - Mommy? by Maurice Sendak

Did really well, building confidence on oral reading, only two words in the book, "Mommy?" and "Baby!"

The artwork also helps.

We also went and picked up a bike trailer from a very nice FreeCycler. Looking forward to getting it cleaned up!

The Provider

This guest post from Lenny McKnight

Being the provider at home means it’s my job to take care of the family. I’m not just talking about money, either, I mean when it comes to their entire well being. I went to http://www.homesecurityfamily.com/ when we first moved in to feel better about their safety and even signed my wife up for a self-defense class. I’m really proactive about the kinds of groceries she buys and even give her extra money each week so she can buy organic. There’s just nothing too small when it comes to my family for me to be involved in and I think that as the man of the house it’s my job! My wife may tell you different and ask that I butt out every once and a while but I know that at the end of the day it’s all about making sure my family is taken care of. That’s what’s really important in the world and no matter what kind of job or salary I have, I’m going to make sure that happens every day.

We have a new kitten!

Our new neighbor, Patricia, gave us her kitten. His name is Gene, after Gene Simmons of KISS. MrBaby just looks at him as a new kitten, but I am going to use the kitty to teach MrBaby some responsibility skills, and increase his compassion levels. He really loves this silly kitty, and he's ecstatic we now have a feline friend in the house.

Here are some pics of them together. You can tell they both like each other.

Future Science Books for Us

Right now, MrBaby's favorite subject is science, and lots of it. We have another frog, who will be going into a larger terrarium soon (after we move), and he can't wait. I'm hoping that needing to learn to read will become less of a chore for him when he realizes there is so much knowledge in books. From the several sources I'm looking over, I really love the detail I see in the National Geographic-style books available online. Books like these have facts, diagrams, photos, maps, as well as text, and are entertaining and informative. There are books on animals, insects, ecology, weather, and many other topics.

The best science teachers know that to teach students well in any setting, be it a homeschool, or a more formal public school, requires getting the kids' attention and holding it. Without that, science is reduced to memorizing facts and figures, tables, charts, and graphs, and that's not something any student retains easily. If a student doesn't retain knowledge, a student can't manipulate that knowledge later on, or even easily build on it.

That is why my materials are so important to me, and I want books and manipulatives that I can use for years and build on. MrBaby will benefit from what I choose for years, so it's really important that I choose right. If you're an educator, it's important you choose good materials, too, and continually build your library.

Out in the Boonies!

Guest post, posted by Gaylord Campbell

I love being out in the country and my new home just proves it. It’s totally authentic log cabin style and we have a lot of really natural fixtures – our dining room chandelier is made out of deer antlers! I try to be as eco-concious as possible and not use too much water or AC…for example, I went to HTTP://www.shopelectricityratestexas to make sure we were getting the best rate and have my kids save their shower water for us to use on the garden. It’s nice being so outside the city and away from all the hustle and bustle and I feel like it’s been good for my family, too, so that’s an added bonus. I like Texas a lot but some of the big cities are just too darn big and I needed some space or I was going to go crazy. I wish I had thought to do this sooner but I guess it’s better late than never or whatever it is they all say! I’m here now and that’s what matters.

Survivor

This guest post from Edgardo Rosa

I have been a huge reality TV fan and I never discriminate. I will watch it all no matter how 'scripted' or fake it seems to be. Ever since we have gotten http://www.direc4u.com I have been watching more reality than normal and my favorite show to watch has to be Survivor. I have watched Survivor for years but never really gotten into it until now. Mostly I just watched the seasons on DVD whenever there was nothing good. The past season really got me hooked though! The thing I like best about this show is how much it really takes to win. It do! es not just test athletic ability or strength or smarts but all those things combined as well as a level of sneakiness needed to ultimately win the game. So far my favorite season has been the villains versus heroes. This season took contestants from past seasons that were fan favorites for being either really sneaky, conniving and just overall bad and pitted them against previous contestants that were known for being honest and forthright and generally good. It was fun to watch previous contestants pitted against each other and see whether it was possible to win the game without lying and breaking alliances. In the end the 3 final contestants that went to tribal were all villains, but at least Sandra, the lesser of the three evils, ultimately won the million dollars.

Learning to Write English

MrBaby has learned to write most letters well, and is still working on writing the letter 'S' which can be a problem for most children, simply because it starts opposite from where most other letters do. Now, we're working on learning that words are groups of letters, and the same word means the same thing, no matter where it is seen. Teachable moment of seeing that one of Ben 10's aliens has the name of 'Ditto' and comparing it to the name he had written down yesterday for Bear's sister Ditto. It took him a minute to realize that 'Ditto' on the Ben 10 page was not 'Bear and Ditto' like he had written on his piece of paper, though.

His fluency in verbal English, though, is something that he will be able to rely on when writing longer texts, beginning first with short stories describing simple, everyday items.

For those who rely on writing articles as their livelihoods, but don't have English as their first language, finding out what sounds as good as some of their ideas are can be a daunting task. It's not impossible, but there is a big difference in what readers think after reading something written in broken English, and another article with the same content, but written in smoother English.

English lessons cost money, and few are free, or always directed at an article writer's problem areas. It's another obstacle that needs to be overcome in addition to finding article ideas. My best advice on article ideas are to write what you like, but also that has an audience. Without an audience, you're writing is wasted, and so is your time. But, if you don't like what you are writing about, that will show up and irritate your reader, sometimes enough to click off your content.

I don't teach just MrBaby for his homeschool, I also teach English to those who aren't fluent in it, and having been in South America before, I'm accustomed to using online translators myself, so I know first hand, the meanings I am trying to communicate sometimes get lost in translation. Many of those I have helped are involved in writing articles for money online.

Some translators are better than others, but here's a new one that you might want to try. I think it's pretty good. WhiteSmoke improves the use of synonyms, grammar, translations, spelling, and much more. It's simple to use, as well. If you wanted to take a break from working in English and write in your native language, you could do that, and then simply click to translate the entire article. Your choice.

I've also thought about using it myself to increase article generation, but in different languages, and seeing if I can post these additional articles elsewhere, in markets and on pages already using those different languages. Writing articles for money is more profitable the more articles you have posted. The debate with this is that the new article isn't written by the person submitting it. However, I believe that if you've written an article, and you pay someone else to translate it for you into a fluent version in another language, then it's the same as hiring someone to write an article for you in your own language.Sometimes you need to spend a little bit to make a lot more money online.

Homework in college is a little different

Guest post written by Marla Brighton

I barely even had homework in high school, even when I had honors classes. I really realized how much of a joke that was when I got to college and I had work all the time, every day. So last semester, the first time that I went away to college, I realized that I needed to make some changes in my existing study habits to make sure that I would get all of my work done and study.

I went online to try and find some study tips over winter break that I could apply to my work this semester. While I was online looking for those I randomly found some clear TV bundle packages and after I read some more about them, I signed up for one of them for my college apartment.

IÕm really excited to use the new college schoolwork tips that I found, like keeping my notes in chronological order, which sounds really simple but that was something I wasn't doing before and will just make my life easier.